It
is in deep solitude that I find the gentleness with which
I can truly love my brothers and sisters. The more solitary
I am the
more affection I have for them. . . . Solitude and silence
teach me to love my brothers and sisters
for what they are, not for
what they say.

Thomas Merton

Today's
Meditation:

I'm
not an idiot, and I'm not a rude person. But
sometimes I say things that might make other people think
otherwise. That's how I know that when other people
say or do things that make them look rude or obnoxious,
the chances are very good that the person's words or
actions are not a good indicator of who that person is.

I
might put on a monkey suit and act like a monkey, but that
doesn't make me a monkey. Likewise, the fact that
another person acts like a jerk doesn't make that person a
jerk. In reality, we all are beautiful creations of
the same God, here on this planet for a human experience,
going through similar trials and tribulations but reacting
differently to them.

It's
in silence and solitude that I can come to the
understanding that every person on this planet is a
brother or sister, and deserving of my love. Out in
the "real world" it's very easy to fall into the
trap of reacting to everything other people do. When
I do that I don't give them the respect, courtesy, or
compassion that can result only from deep contemplation.

Every
person on this planet is deserving of my gentleness as
they go through their lives making mistakes and hurting
themselves and others. When I can see them for what
they are, then I can practice compassion; until then,
though, my gentleness will not be seen as I react to their
words or actions rather than to their presence as fellow
spirits on a difficult journey in a beautiful but trying
world.

Questions to
consider:

How do you see other people? How do you react to
jerks?

How might we learn to be more tolerant and
understanding of other people's mistakes, even when those
mistakes affect us?

How often do you give yourself the gift of silence and
solitude?

For further
thought:

The
essence of love and compassion is understanding, the ability
to recognize the physical, material, and psychological suffering
of
others, to put ourselves "inside the skin" of the
other. We "go inside"
their body, feelings, and mental formations, and witness for
ourselves
their suffering. Shallow observation as an outsider is not
enough
to see their suffering. We must become one with the
subject of
our observation. When we are in contact with another's
suffering,
a feeling of compassion is born in us.
Compassion means, literally, "to suffer with."

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